Passing

Season Ended

Venue

A little bit funny, a little bit sad, this piece by co-creators Sahra Hamadi and Angela Dolan is about a young adult trying to understand her cultural and religious roots.

Family is important to her and so she agonises over every new path she takes. On the one hand, Sara is Australian, but on the other, she is Algerian-Muslim. What does that mean? We follow Sara in her journey as she tries to untangle this in her mind.

This she did, leading us through, with kindness and humour.

The clever use of different stage elements from scripted scenes, voice overs, to dancing, music and even passing delicious homemade bread around, kept it interesting and interactive for the audience.

At one point, using a marker pen and butcher paper, she drew us a quick sketch of the world and very effectively showed the more geographically-challenged among us just where her father was from (Algeria) in relation to Australia.

In the end though, we leave The Shambles feeling a little sad. The very real issue of acceptance is never resolved, one can only sympathise with the choices that she ultimately has to make about having a girlfriend, dealing with thoughtless racism and family expectations.

The Shambles is tucked into one of the quieter corners of FRINGE Central but still, without a microphone, some words can be missed. Make sure you try to sit in the front rows, if you can.

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Review by Ti Lian-Siew on 03 Feb 2018

Perth-based writer with a creative bent. Several of her plays were performed in Queensland and she is currently working on a new play project for 2018. Ti Lian-Siew was a journalist and has extensive experience in newsdesk reporting and subediting. She currently reviews food, travel and movies.